Teacher Guided - Student Decided

I've been a fan of the term Student-Directed for a while now and for two reasons. First, because it sums up, to some degree, the classroom expectation. Ultimately at South B, we want the student to be in charge of their art education. We want them making decisions about the subject they will explore and the media they will select. The other reason is because admins like it.  If someone says Student-Directed to an admin, they are hooked ;) But the truth is, Student-Directed, as great as it sounds, isn't really what we do. What we really do is Teacher Guided/Student Decided. 

So what really is  Teacher Guided/Student Decided? It's actually three different methods of teaching depending on the needs of the student. 

1. Student Decided.
2. Teacher Guided/Student Decided.
3. Teacher Provided.

Let's take a closer look at all three.

Student Decided

Student Decided: The student comes to class with an idea. The teacher facilitates by providing material, guidance/suggestions to  help  bring the students vision to fruition.
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The teacher says, You have an idea? Great! How can we help you bring your idea to life?

So How does this work?
For these students, the teacher is really a facilitator. What materials do they need that we can provide? What techniques might the student need to know?  What suggestions about composition, media, or other can we recommend. 

Teacher Guided/Student Decided

Teacher Guided - Student Decided: the student comes to class looking for ideas and inspiration. The teacher provides ideas, inspiration, material choices, suggests possible projects. Monday units, Wednesday artists, Thursday techniques

The teacher says, Not sure what you want to create? No problem! We have some great Monday Units guaranteed to inspire ideas.

So How does this work?
In a  Teacher Guided - Student Decided situation, the teacher provides information and inspiration. For example, each Monday, the teachers at South B present a new unit that demonstrates how artists think and work. We call these units Artistic Behavior Units.  Artists Steal, Artists Solve Problems and Artists Collect & Synthesize are just a few of the many units we present. These units provide students, not only information about how artists think and work but can also be used as inspiration for the development of their own projects.  In other words, the teacher guides the topic but the student decides what they will create.

Other examples of teacher guidance includes Artist Wednesdays and Technique Thursdays. The Artist Wednesday provides the students a look into how contemporary working artists incorporate artistic behaviors in their art. Technique Thursdays offer students hands on opportunities to add more traditional art techniques to their artistic toolbox. ​

Teacher Provided

Teacher Provided: the student comes to class without an idea and looks to the teacher to provide one. The teacher offers project idea suggestions that include material recommendations. Monday units, Tuesday tables.


The teacher says, You have no idea what to make? The Tuesday Table will set you up with a project idea and introduce you to new project materials.
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So How does this work?
There are times when a student doesn't have an idea and the unit doesn't inspire them. These students are looking for a project idea. Even in a TAB setting, the teacher needs to be prepared for this situation. Students respond to choice in different ways. Some jump at the chance to make all the decisions, while others are more reluctant. For these students, offering a project may be just what they are looking for.

At South B, we offer the Tuesday Table. Each week, we present a different hands on project that for those students looking for an idea. We have both 2D Table Projects and 3D Table projects. 2D table projects include Marbling, Stencils and Cray Pens. 3D Table projects include Ugly Dolls, Piñatas, and Candle Making to name a few.

Note: Any student can be one or switch back and forth between all three of these. It’s not a judgment, but rather a students mindset for that week. ​

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